J.R.R. Tolkien discussion

Hello out there! Is someone else currently reading LOTR? I have just started over and would love to share some thoughts. I have just finished book 1 and started on The Two Towers. It would be nice if I could chat with someone about the story.
If you are not currently reading, but would like to share anyway, that's welcome, too, of course!

I'm reading lotr the fellowship of the ring, just started it but yeah you could talk to me about it! :)

Wow, cool! That was fast! Are you reading it for the first time or are you visiting again? I have been reading it over and over every 4 or 5 years since the 1980s. And every time I come across something new. It's amazing!

I've just watched all the movies and i'm gonna read it now. don't remember a lot still, i have a bad memory but you could absolutely talk to me about it even if i don't get it i will when i read it hahaha

Well, it's a good thing that you don't remember too much from the movies because they're all different, anyway. I only saw bits and pieces while zapping, and I didn't like them. I keep comparing to the book so I can't just sit back and enjoy the show. All the while I'm thinking "That's wrong." No fun.
How far along are you? Has Frodo left the Shire yet?

oh i'm only on page 33. i started yesterday and i've had a lot of homework.

I need to read the series again ~ it's been quite a while. There is so much to the story and so many layers, it's impossible to do justice in the movies. Enjoy :)

Penny wrote: "I need to read the series again ~ it's been quite a while. There is so much to the story and so many layers, it's impossible to do justice in the movies. Enjoy :)"

Hi Penny, why don't you join in and start rereading now? I'd like to know which elements impress you. I agree with you, the movies can never transport what the books contain.

oh you both are old haha i'm only 15 this is weird

No Amanda, being 15 isn't weird at all. LOL Well, maybe a little. And it's the perfect age for reading LOTR for the first time. Maybe it will also accompany you for the next 30 years! (Now you can guess how old I am.)

are you 40? : )

Older! 46. But in my heart I'll never pass 21, I think. I love teenagers, they're fun to be with!

yea you seem really cool for being 46!

Thanks! I'm looking forward to journeying through middle-earth with you!

Ok I took the plunge :) went to the Library and got the series in large print. My hubby likes to read while i knit, and we both read it long ago, so it's time! Enjoy the journey everyone!

Hey!! I'm Lily, I've already read lotr but I'm re reading it now. I'd love to join this, no one I know had read it and loves it as much as I do so it would be really cool to discuss it with everyone :)

cool! : )

Welcome, Lily! Real glad you want to join us. Have you just started reading? I'm afraid I read terribly fast - wolved down Book 1 within a week. But I don't think it's a problem. The only one who hasn't read the book yet is Amanda, but she saw the movies, so we don't have to worry about spoilers.

Penny wrote: "Ok I took the plunge :) went to the Library and got the series in large print. My hubby likes to read while i knit, and we both read it long ago, so it's time! Enjoy the journey everyone!"

Large print? Goodness, how thick is the book??? LOL
I have a paperback edition from 1986 that's slowly falling apart and the print is fading, too. Guess I just read it too often.

I'm nearly at the end of book 1, I've just finished the scene in Lothlorien

Ah, Lothlorien... the place of healing. I think it's a good thing that the company got there right after the terror in Moria. Otherwise they might have despaired and given up. When I read the book the very first time, I did not want to go on reading after Gandalf fell. I was devastated! But in the end of course I picked it up again and went on reading and thus came to miraculous Lothlorien. It soothed me, too.

I finished Fellowship last month, and I'm on Riders of Rhohan right now in The Two Towers. I seem to read the trilogy every six months or so, though this time I finish it this past January. It's like revisiting old friends, where you catch up on things and just enjoy being in their company. Last year I took notes, writing down my thoughts, impressions and questions of the storyline and characters. I applied it to me. (Misplaced the notebook at the moment.) This time I'm reading to just enjoy the story, though I keep pondering, questioning/answering and comparing. Lol

I'm loving the change of heart Legolas is having towards Gimli, and vise versa.

I'm on page 112 now :)

Peggy wrote: "I finished Fellowship last month, and I'm on Riders of Rhohan right now in The Two Towers. I seem to read the trilogy every six months or so, though this time I finish it this past January. It's li..."

Hi Peggy, welcome to the fellowship! I believe we are almost abreast on the story. I have almost reached Meduseld. I absolutely love Treebeard and the way Merry and Pippin start playing their very own role in the proceedings. So like them to sit in the grass and eat while a battle is raging around them! And the easy trust with which they meet Treebeard touches me, too. They are really open-minded for folks that have never been outside their village before. I wish people in my country were more like that and less worried about strangers.

Amanda wrote: "I'm on page 112 now :)"

Good going! How do you like it so far?

Anne wrote: "Peggy wrote: "I finished Fellowship last month, and I'm on Riders of Rhohan right now in The Two Towers. I seem to read the trilogy every six months or so, though this time I finish it this past Ja..."

Yes, it's the same with me! I actually told that to a friend who asked me why I'm reading the same book over and over.
Today I noted something special while reading how Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli walk into Meduseld and see the picture of Eorl the young. There is so much appreciation of the past and the good deeds of the forefathers. In my head it connected to the stone figures they passed on the Anduin and many references to the kings of old. But these references are never whiny, like "Oh I wish the old days would return, everything is so bad now..." Quite on the contrary, they draw strength from the memory to face the tasks at hand.
We don't do that today, do we? It's all bad news on the news and everyone talks about the worst and most outrageous deeds and people and nobody seems to learn anything from it. Or become a better person because of it. Do you know what I mean?

Funny how you mentioned the Large Print Annette; it's pretty thick! On the bright side, we get to 'turn the page' often :) We've got a nice group of readers, that's fantastic!

Please post further comments on the new discussion thread, where I've also posted a link to this thread so that your existing comments aren't 'lost'.

Thanks for you enthusiasm and participation :-)